Types of multi channel retailing explained

Have you heard about multi channel retailing? This is a trendy phrase used to describe a situation where a retailer is offering products and/or services to clients on more than one sales channel. In addition, this also describes the opportunities that modern consumers have when they want to buy something, be it a product or a service. Multi channel retailing is not a new thing. For many decades, people had a chance to buy items from different places, for instance, they could use a catalog to order a product or use a physical store. But, the situation has changed dramatically with the introduction of the Internet.

The World Wide Web has unveiled many news sales channels and some of these channels started as something completely different like social media for example. So, there are many different types of multi channel retailing options today and we will use this blog post to explain some of them. By learning more about these channels, every retailer is able to evaluate the importance of the channel and decide whether they should use it or avoid it.

Online marketplaces

These are the best option for consumers that have already built their opinion. Typically, marketplaces are used by well-informed consumers that have a specific product or at least brands in mind. It’s worth mentioning that there are three types of online marketplaces – international, horizontal and vertical. Some notable examples of online marketplaces include Amazon, eBay, and Etsy.

An eCommerce website

Needless to say, an eCommerce website (online store) is usually the most important channel for any type of retailer. One of the reasons for that is the fact that you can personalize and modify the shoppingexperience in any way you want. It also helps you build and strengthen your brand. With an eCommerce site, you can control the expenses and cut the fees too.

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Social media platforms

They’ve started as places where people can communicate with each other, but most of them are used as marketplaces today are used as marketplaces too. These are the platforms where people usually go to find new items. Thanks to the so-called influencers you can boost your business operations on social media right away.

Comparison shopping engines

Finally, multi channel retailing includes comparison shopping engines too. Some examples of sites like this are PriceGrabber and Google Shopping. You can contact and pay these sites to list your products or offer on their pages in order to get web traffic.

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